


Getting Better

by Thisusernameistakenagain



Series: The Attack on Titan Zombie Chronicles [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Angst, PTSD, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-19
Updated: 2014-06-30
Packaged: 2018-01-25 16:18:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 22
Words: 15,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1654775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thisusernameistakenagain/pseuds/Thisusernameistakenagain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Annie has PTSD. She was rescued six months ago from "The Titan's" secret base after being tortured for important information. Now her army buddy Mikasa is helping her get better even though her life has changed drastically. </p><p>*WARNING*  THIS FIC INCLUDES TORTURE SCENES AND DESCRIPTIONS AND SCARS AND STUFF SO IF ANY OF THOSE THINGS ARE TRIGGERS FOR YOU THEN PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS FIC AT ALL BECAUSE THEY OCCUR IN BASICALLY EVERY CHAPTER.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One: Nightmares and Body Pillows

**Author's Note:**

> Don't read if you don't want angst. End of story.

War. Being captured. Taken as prisoner while the rest of her friends were slaughtered. Being tortured for important battle information. The images flashed before Annie’s eyes as she slept alone in her small apartment, thrashing under the covers every time she was whipped or cut in her dreams. When she woke up she saw him. The leader and reason she was going through so much pain was lying right next to her. She grabbed his neck and tackled him to the floor, strangling him.

After hearing all the commotion and yelling Annie’s roommate came rushing over with a flashlight to find her strangling a body pillow. Mikasa stood there for a moment, stunned. This was not at all what she expected to see when she came to see what was wrong.

“Annie!” Mikasa finally sputtered, coming to her senses.

Annie looked up from the pillow with the face of a cornered animal just trying to protect itself. Her icy blue eyes were filled with anger, hate, and fear and her blonde hair fell down around her face. The gray tank top and black running shorts she was wearing showed off her insane muscles and traces of possible malnutrition. She looked back down at the pillow, finally realizing what she had just done.

“B-b-but he was…” Her voice trailed off and tears found their way to her eyes, sliding down her pale cheeks.

Mikasa ran over to Annie throwing her arms around her and saying, “Its okay, Annie. He’s not here anymore. He’s dead.”

“I’m scared, Mikasa.”

“I’ve got you. I’ve got you. Its okay, you’re safe now.”

“W-will you sleep with me? Please?”

Both Annie and Mikasa knew this was dangerous because of Annie’s posttraumatic stress but Annie slept so much better when Mikasa was lying with her. Mikasa hesitantly agreed and helped the trembling blond get up. She had to help her walk because she was shaking so much. Mikasa got Annie into bed first before climbing in after her.

Once they were both settled under the covers Mikasa slid her hand up Annie’s shirt to rub her back. Annie flinched when she felt Mikasa’s unnaturally cold fingers on her warm skin. Mikasa felt some of the many scars that were left on Annie’s back from almost a year ago. Annie was rescued six months ago but had been held captive for much longer.

Mikasa was in the same squad as Annie and basically fell to pieces when Annie had been taken as a prisoner. It was Mikasa who had arranged the rescue mission and found Annie and only two other soldiers, Reiner and Bertholdt, that were still alive. Reiner and Bertholdt were in a holding cell together completely unharmed but Annie was found only by her tormented cries just before the leader, who went by Titan, killed her. After she was treated in the hospital she wasn’t allowed to join the army again so Mikasa left so she could be with her. Later on Annie had to go through mental and physical therapy.

No matter how much therapy she went through Annie was permanently broken. She was scared to wander outside of her apartment in fear that she would be captured again and interrogated for information. Flashbacks and nightmares terrorized the poor girl, who wasn’t even twenty yet, into near insanity. Mikasa was the only one that could keep her from losing it. Mikasa was the only one that could make Annie feel better or even feel at all. Mikasa was the only one that Annie could trust. Most importantly Mikasa was the only one that Annie had left.

Annie quickly fell asleep and Mikasa pulled her hand out from under Annie’s tank top. She stirred a little bit so Mikasa threw her arm around Annie, feeling the muscles and ribs protruding from her abdomen. _Damn it Annie,_ Mikasa thought to herself.

Ever since Annie had gotten back she had been reluctant to eat very much of anything in fear that she would be severely punished for eating more than half a sandwich. Long story short she only made that mistake once when she was taken prisoner. Annie usually ate more when Mikasa was around but lately she hasn’t been able to be there for Annie because she started a new job at the local grocery store just a week ago. When she got home around dinner time Annie was already in bed twisting and turning in her sleep. Mikasa made a mental note to schedule a doctor’s appointment for Annie tomorrow morning.


	2. Chapter Two: The Trip to the Doctor's Office

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie and Mikasa go to the doctor's office so they can check up on Annie and make sure everything is going alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah I realise I finished this chapter about an hour after the first one but take into account that these are really short and take about thirty minutes to write. Enjoy!

The next morning Annie woke to find Mikasa was gone and the smell of eggs, pancakes, and coffee, her favorite breakfast, coming from the kitchen. She got up out of bed, put her hair up in a messy bun like she always had it, and walked out into the kitchen. Mikasa was sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee, eating some scrambled eggs, and reading her favorite book for what seemed to be the millionth time.

“I just finished making your breakfast,” Mikasa piped, pointing to the stove. “I buttered the pancakes already so you just have to put syrup on them if you want. There’s also coffee in the coffee pot if you want it.”

Sitting on top of the stove was a plate that consisted of three golden brown pancakes and a heap of scrambled eggs. Annie’s mouth watered and her stomach growled as she quickly walked over to the stove. She pulled a fork from the silverware drawer and started scarfing down her breakfast before she even got to the table. Mikasa looked up from her book and was glad Annie was eating something for once.

Looking back down at her book she muttered, “Slow down. You’re going to choke.”

Annie looked up from her plate with eggs in her mouth and on her face. She went back to eating but slower this time.

“Thank you,” she said in between bites.

“You have a doctor’s appointment today at three, just thought you should know that.”

Annie dropped her fork and looked at Mikasa like she was about to vomit.

“I’m sorry, Annie. I know you don’t like going out and I know the doctor is the last person you want to see but you need to go,” Mikasa insisted. “Don’t worry. I’ll be there with you the entire time.”

“I thought you had work today,” Annie gulped. She wasn’t too happy to be leaving the apartment today.

“I took off so I could take you because I don’t trust you going off and driving on your own.”

Annie pushed her empty plate away from her and sat back in her chair. She was still hungry but she wasn’t going to tell Mikasa that. She was still getting used to being home in her apartment and not strapped to a chair getting slapped around by a shithead looking for information he knew he wasn’t going to get. _Maybe,_ Annie thought, _maybe that’s why he decided to torture the only girl for a change. Maybe he thought I would break unlike the guys but he was wrong. I’m Annie Leonhart. I am strong._ But that’s just where her confidence ended.

“If you don’t injure the doctor we can get ice cream later,” Mikasa offered.

“I’ll try but no promises,” Annie smirked.

 

***

 

The doctor’s appointment didn’t go as expected which freaked Mikasa out quite a bit. Annie was actually cooperating which was unusual because she was never that cooperative at the doctor’s even before she was terrified of everything. _She must really want to get out of here,_ Mikasa pondered.

Everything turned out to be okay except for the fact that Annie was underweight. The doctor told Mikasa to make sure Annie followed a special diet to help her gain weight. Mikasa hoped that Levi, her boss, would understand and wouldn’t mind if she took off for a month even though she just started working there. She had a feeling that she wouldn’t be able to do that. She racked her brain for ideas when finally she decided to see if Reiner or Bertholdt could look after her and make sure she ate what she was supposed to.

“So where do you want to go get ice cream at?” Mikasa inquired as they walked out of the office.

“I don’t know. Just pick up a half gallon of chocolate from the store,” Annie answered plainly.

“Alright. What do you want for lunch?”

“Potato soup sounds nice.”

“But we don’t have anymore potatoes.”

“Buy some from the store when we go you idiot.”

Mikasa’s face turned a light shade of pink.

“About that…”

“What?”

“Some crazy chick came in the other day with an equally crazy guy and bought every last potato we had.”

Annie got the cute look on her face she always got when she heard something stupid. She just shrugged her shoulders and continued walking to the car.

            “What are you staring at?” Annie asked.

Mikasa blushed and spat, “Nothing!” a bit too quickly.

Annie smiled and grabbed Mikasa’s hand which was clammy from her nervousness. _We should do this more often,_ the two of them thought. It made Annie not so scared of just walking around outside of the apartment and it made Mikasa not so nervous about Annie having a breakdown. The couple happily walked the rest of the way to the car hand in hand. That was when everything went wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you have enjoyed this ridiculously short chapter and will leave comments for me. I accept criticism because everyone needs it and without it everything would just really suck. Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter Three: Feels and Idiots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie has a breakdown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This fic is going to be updated daily so don't worry about cliffhangers too terribly much. I hope you enjoy this horribly short chapter!

Annie froze in her tracks and Mikasa only realized after she felt a yank on her arm. Annie was staring straight ahead, eyes wide, and her knees buckled at the sight of a man walking by. Mikasa thought he looked kind of attractive but she shook the thought from her head when Annie’s grip on her hand tightened and she hugged her arm. Her breaths were shaky and she clenched her eyes shut. Since they were almost to the car Mikasa picked Annie up and carried her the rest of the way there. Annie pressed her face and right hand to Mikasa’s chest, gripping her shirt as she was carried away from the man.

Mikasa knew she was having a flashback from when she was rescued because Mikasa had carried her the same exact way. She unlocked the car and put Annie in the passenger seat, crouching down next to her and grabbing her hands as she looked around in terror.

“Don’t let them take me again!” Annie pleaded as she hugged Mikasa.

“Annie, they won’t get you. I’ll protect you,” Mikasa whispered in her ear while she gripped the hood of Annie’s grey hoodie.

A family walking by looked at the scene like they were insane.

“And that’s why you don’t do drugs,” the father said sternly, pointing over to Annie.

She did sort of look like she was on drugs because of the way her hair was put up in a messy bun, the way her eyes drooped with exhaustion from sleepless nights, and the way she was dressed with her hoodie and sweat pants. It didn’t help that her skin was extremely pale or that she was s.

“Go fuck yourself with a cactus,” Mikasa replied to the man. She looked up and gave him a murderous glare.

The man looked offended and walked off with his wife and son.

When Mikasa turned her head back to look at Annie she looked so hurt. Mikasa’s heart dropped into her stomach because Annie had to have been feeling even worse than before. Tears were still steadily streaming down her face but now they were for a different reason. Mikasa hugged Annie once more before shutting the passenger door and headed for the driver’s seat.

“Let’s just skip the store and go home,” Annie mumbled.

“Eh, I have to pick something else up anyway. Should I ask Levi for more time off or will you be okay with Bertholdt and Reiner?” Mikasa asked.

“I think I’ll be fine by myself.”

“Are you sure? I can always stay home if you’re not comfortable with seeing Bertholdt and Reiner again.”

“Yeah, I’ll be okay.”

Annie’s distant staring made Mikasa nervous but she wasn’t going to argue with Annie. It was her decision and Mikasa trusted her enough to leave her by herself until she came home for lunch and for the night. She would most likely be trying to sleep or clean up the house. Annie wasn’t the type of person to clean up after herself but lately she’s been working on keeping everything clean, probably to keep things off of her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will leave a review for me in the comments. Criticism is accepted because everyone needs criticism.


	4. Chapter Four: Freezing Flashbacks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa and Annie go to the grocery store to pick up ice cream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm sorry if this chapter isn't all that great. I had some really long testing (four hours of math is not okay) today at school so my brain is pretty much melted. Enjoy!

 

As Mikasa pulled up into a parking spot at the grocery store Annie let out a sigh and gave Mikasa the _do you hate me?_ look. Mikasa tried to ignore it because she knew that if she looked at Annie she would get back in the car without getting what she needed and drive off.

Annie reluctantly got out of the car with Mikasa and grabbed her hand again to steady herself. A small smile spread across both of their faces and Mikasa blushed. When they walked into the store a chill ran down Annie’s back. The store was colder than what Annie was used to and without the body fat that she lacked she got cold easily. Mikasa realized this and took off the red scarf she wore at all times, handing it to Annie who gladly wrapped it tightly around her neck. Annie snuggled up a little bit closer to Mikasa as they walked through the freezer isle to get the ice cream. She seemed uneasy but Mikasa understood and gave death glares to anyone who looked at Annie like she needed to be in rehab.

_“Where is the serum plan?” Titan yelled in Annie’s face._

_He took the gag out of her mouth for the twentieth time since the torture session started. Titan was tired of her shit and just wanted an answer but Annie was strong and wouldn’t break. Titan took a note to just take guys next time because girls gave him an even harder time._

_“Why the hell would I tell you?” Annie replied, getting a nice large gash in the abdomen for her remark._

_She let out a tormented scream. No matter how many times she got beaten, whipped, starved, or cut on it still hurt. Nothing, however, was worse than the sleep deprivation. Even through all the pain and yelling she was dozing off. The one thing that could keep her awake was the freezing ice water that was infused with salt, alcohol, and lemon juice to make sure she was staying awake and in pain at the same time._

_“I took you because you were one of the test subjects. Where is the serum?” Titan asked again in a deadly calm voice._

_“Up your ass you freak.”_

_Another gash on the chest and a bucket of the freezing mixture was dumped on her for good measure. The gag was put back in her mouth and another session of whipping and sexual assault took place._

Mikasa felt Annie’s small shudders and put the arm Annie had been hugging around her shoulders. They hurried through the store to get some other things for lunch and for other meals throughout the week before checking out. Levi was working behind the counter.

He took one look at Mikasa and Annie from behind the counter and beckoned for Mikasa to lean in.

In her ear he whispered, “Stay home with her for another day. She probably needs it. Besides, tomorrow is Friday and it will probably be slow during your shift anyway.”

Levi continued to bag the groceries and before they walked off Mikasa mouthed _thank you_ to him. He smiled in return before bagging more groceries for the next customer.

Levi understood what it was like because a few years ago he was in the military as well. For that, Mikasa was grateful. If she had the day off tomorrow as well then she could make sure Annie knew what to eat before she stayed home alone. Walking back out to the car warmed Annie up so she took off the red scarf and handed it back to Mikasa.

 

***

 

 Annie was exhausted and headed straight to bed when they got back to the apartment. Mikasa was sure that Annie hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in at least a month thanks to the reoccurring nightmares she had. This usually ended up in either something breaking or complaining neighbors coming to the door. Mikasa had sleepless nights too worrying about Annie. Annie deserved a short nap.

“Come sleep with me,” Annie requested.

“I will if you eat a sandwich first like you're supposed to,” Mikasa offered.

Annie rolled her eyes and replied with a simple, “Fine.”

They both headed to the kitchen and ate some sandwiches, Annie easily scarfing down three before Mikasa finished her one. She must have really wanted that nap with Mikasa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. Remember any criticism towards me is accepted.


	5. Chapter Five: More Problems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie is unexpectedly left home alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm sorry this chapter would have been over but I was at a party for my grandmother's birthday. I think I'm going to start having more flashbacks now because I enjoy writing them. Just to clarify the italics are flashbacks and the bold italics are thoughts.

The feeling of Mikasa’s hand on her back always made Annie flinch and gasp. It wasn’t because it felt good, which it did, and it wasn’t because her hands were cold, which they were. It was the remembrance of all the scars back there that made her nervous. Feeling Mikasa’s hand rub over them it kind of comforted her. All the gashes on her back and some on her arms or legs were from the whip. Others were from the knife, like the one on her jaw line.

_Annie was still breathless on the floor from the unwanted sex she just had with Titan. Everything down there was throbbing and her back was burning from the whip. She was all too familiar with the feeling of both the throbbing and burning. **Why did it have to be me?** Annie constantly thought. After realizing that she wouldn't want her friends going through any of this she was glad that it was her instead._

_All of the people that had been captured had been part of the serum experiment whether they helped create it or were the test subjects. Eren, Mikasa’s brother, was one of the captured test subjects. Annie didn’t want to be the one to tell Mikasa that he was dead along with her friend Armin, who was the creator of the serum. Many of their other comrades were slaughtered after being captured and tortured by Titan. Yimr was originally captured but was left to bleed to death on the way to Titan’s base after watching her love, Krista, being tortured and killed. **Why did it have to be anyone?** Annie thought whenever she thought back to when it wasn’t just her, Reiner, and Bertholdt. _

_Her thoughts were interrupted by the same two things every time. She still hadn’t slept in days and just wanted an hour of sleep. However, everything was the same. Her thoughts were rudely interrupted by the freezing water mixture and the crack of a whip. Annie didn’t understand. They had been going at her nonstop since they started depriving her of sleep. She knew that they would have to get tired sooner or later so she just hoped they would leave her alone soon._

_“Wake up, beautiful.” Titan’s guttural voice pierced the silent atmosphere. “You can sleep when you’re dead.” With that he dragged the blade of his knife across Annie’s face and laughed as she let out a scream._

Annie woke herself up with her screaming. She sat up quickly in bed, sweat trickling down her face, and noticed that Mikasa was gone. Her anxiety quickly rose as she frantically ran out of her room yelling for Mikasa. Tears welled up in her eyes when there wasn’t a response. Annie looked at the clock and saw that it was already six. She calmed down when she found a note on the table in the kitchen that read:

_Went out of town to get you some potatoes for potato soup. Be back soon._

_-Mikasa_

Annie put the note down when she heard a knock on the door. She opened it to find the couple that lived above them, Franz and Hannah. They didn’t look very pleased with her and she knew what they were about to say.

“Why can’t you ever keep it down down here?!” Franz yelled at Annie.

“Seriously! We just want to eat, sleep, read or just do anything in peace but you’re constantly yelling!” Hannah added.

“I-I’m sorry,” Annie stuttered.

Annie felt terrible but she didn’t show it. She made sure she had her usual poker face on. The last thing she wanted was to break down crying and to look weak in a pitiful situation like this. All Annie wanted was for Mikasa to return.

“Yeah, well you should be,” Hannah scoffed.

“Keep it down or we’ll do anything we can to get you kicked out of this apartment complex,” Franz threatened as he began walking off with Hannah.

As soon as they rounded the corner to go up the stairs Annie shut the door. She put her back to the door letting out a sigh before sliding down the door. Her knees were pulled close to her chest with her hands wrapped around her legs. Banging her head against the door repeatedly she began crying. It was all Annie could do to not to flip out in public but you can’t control dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Yes it's another very short one but the ones I write on weekends will most likely be longer so you have that to look forward to. As always criticism towards me is accepted. If you guys have any fic ideas too that you want me to write I would be glad to write them.


	6. Chapter Six: An Awkward Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More flashbacks with a surprise ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so next week I most likely will not be posting daily like I want to. It's the last week of school to turn work in so I'm probably going to be doing lots of that. I've also had writer's block as well so this chapter is probably full of suck but I hope you enjoy it!

 

“Mikasa, please come home,” Annie sobbed into the phone.

“I’m almost there. What’s wrong?” Mikasa asked.

“Hannah and Franz threatened to get us kicked out of the apartment complex if I didn’t keep it down.”

Annie heard the car door open and close through the phone. Her heart skipped a beat because she knew she would be there soon.

“Don’t think about it, love.”

Mikasa rarely called Annie love but when she did Annie loved it.

“Can you walk faster?”

Annie heard keys rattling outside the door and turned around just in time to see Mikasa opening the door. She hung up the phone and ran to hug her. A shocked Mikasa let a small smile spread across her face as the crying Annie kissed her on the cheek. The blushing couple walked into the kitchen to make dinner.

_“Dinner’s ready,” Titan hissed while rolling up a cart that contained water and dry rice._

_Annie was sitting in the corner of her room soaked to the bone with the freezing water and clutching the side of her face. They had stitched up the gash Titan made on her face but it still felt sore and stung more than it should have. She pitifully looked up at Titan who was still smiling._

_He picked Annie up, who was in too much pain to protest, and strapped her into the chair for the third time that day. Titan began shoving the dry rice down her throat, later forcing water in as well. The rice expanded and Annie thought she was going to throw up._

_Pressure, that’s all Annie could feel. She wanted to stick her fingers in the back of her throat to get rid of it but she was strapped down. She was scared that if she did vomit she would choke on it because she was laying flat on her back. Titan probably wouldn’t have let that happen just because he wanted her alive. He wanted to break her so that he could keep her as his own personal slave. If he had to, he would trade Annie for Bertholdt or Reiner in a heartbeat just so that he could keep her for himself and use their deaths as leverage._

It took Mikasa a very silent half hour to peel the potatoes and another forty five minutes to make and cook the soup. Annie was going to help but she couldn’t pick up a knife just yet. Instead she retired to the couch in the living room to play some Minecraft.

When dinner was done the two girls sat at the round table in their dining room/kitchen. They ate in silence until Mikasa told Annie that she needed to slow down so she didn’t make herself sick. Mikasa didn’t think that she could clean up Annie’s vomit again.

“You know when the doctor said you needed to eat more he didn’t mean for you to stuff yourself until you’re sick,” Mikasa mumbled.

“I know I’m just… starving,” Annie explained.

“Annie, what exactly was that serum Armin injected into you?”

Annie had to stop and think for a bit before she answered. She honestly wasn’t sure what the serum did other than make her need to eat more often.

“I’m not quite sure. All Armin told us before he was tortured into insanity and killed was that we would be invincible soldiers, practically immortal. I suppose with the deaths of Eren, Ymir, and Krista that he was wrong. I mean, look at me. I’m pretty much insane as well.”

Before Mikasa could respond there was a knock on the door. Annie got up to answer it and saw a confused five year old at the door.

“I’m looking for an Annie Leonhart and Mikasa Ackerman.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been another chapter of Getting Better. I hope you enjoyed it! Oh! and a special thanks to the people behind the fantastic compliment comments. You have no idea how happy it makes me when I get those. Also, thank you for giving me kudos (is that how you phrase that?) because that makes my day as well. I love you all!


	7. Chapter Seven: Five Year Olds and Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two five year olds bring new responsibilities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So yeah this chapter is posted a lot later than usual but I kind of got side tracked. Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Annie was in awe at the sight of the teary five year old standing before her. If she didn’t know any better she would say that the little girl was a five year old version of Ymir. _It can’t be Ymir,_ Annie thought. Ymir _is dead and was twenty at the time anyway._ A smaller girl that looked like Krista that Annie hadn’t seen before peaked out from behind the five year old Ymir.

“Annie, who is it?” Mikasa called.

“Just some kids asking for us,” Annie said sarcastically.

Mikasa rolled her eyes and left the table to go see what Annie was talking about. When she approached the door she looked in front of Annie and saw that there was, in fact, a small girl.

“What do you want?” Mikasa asked in a rather harsh manner.

“W-w-we were wandering around town alone and we were really hungry so we went into the grocery store. A scary man that worked there brought us here and told us to find you,” the five year old Ymir managed before bursting into tears.

 _Fuck you, Levi,_ was all Mikasa could think. The five year old Krista began crying as well.

“Where are your parents?”

“They’re… dead.”

“Why aren’t you with any other family members?”

“We don’t have any.”

“You should be in a foster home then.”

“We were but they were mean so we ran away.”

Annie suddenly felt a pang of guilt like it was her fault. Mikasa was able to empathize with them due to the fact that she lost her parents at a young age as well. She had been adopted by Eren’s family because they felt like he needed another sibling.

“Are you guys still hungry?” Mikasa’s tone had changed drastically and she was kneeling down to talk to them.

They both nodded in unison and Mikasa led them into the kitchen. She cleared off the table and told the two to sit down in the living room. Annie let out a whimper of protest as Mikasa took away her soup but she knew she had already eaten enough. She helped Mikasa get some soup for the two girls that they had a feeling would be staying for a while, if not forever. When given the soup the two girls scarfed it down and begged for more.

After the second bowl of soup the girls were tired and wanted to go to bed. Mikasa decided to go to the store tomorrow with the two so they could get some clothes and other necessary things. Annie found a couple of old shirts that the five year olds threw on. Mikasa led them to her bed which was rarely used anymore since she always slept with Annie. Ymir was already snoring as Mikasa headed for the door.

“Mikasa?” the five year old Krista asked before Mikasa left.

“Yes?” Mikasa responded.

“Is Annie okay?”

Mikasa was stunned. She wasn’t expecting that and didn’t know how to respond.

“No, she’s not okay.”

“I just saw that she was so skinny and looked really tired so I was curious. Thank you, Mikasa. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight. Wait, I never asked, what are your names?”

“Oh, I’m Krista and that’s Ymir.”

Obvious. Mikasa ruffled Krista’s hair before kissing her forehead and leaving. A small smile was plastered on her face so that it hid her confusion. Krista and Ymir somehow were reincarnated.

Mikasa walked into Annie’s room where Annie was already in bed sleeping. Mikasa hoped that Annie wouldn’t wake up screaming in the middle of the night.

_Annie, so happy to have been able to sleep after going five days without it, woke up in a cell to Reiner screaming and Bertholdt crying. Bertholdt turned around when he saw Annie stirring in the corner. He ran to her and picked her head up in his hands. She was barely recognizable with her face so distorted from Titan’s hands and her sickly thin form was nothing compared to her previously muscular form. She flinched when Bertholdt accidentally ran his thumb over the gash in her face._

_“Annie, I thought you were dead,” Bertholdt breathed as he hugged Annie._

_She winced and let out a small whimper because Bertholdt didn’t know about the lack of skin on her back._

_“Well, here I am.” Her voice was raspy and full of pain._

_“I think they decided to give you a break and let you recover. They took Reiner a few days ago. You’ve been out for a while.”_

_“I would expect so. They deprived me of sleep for so long I wouldn’t be surprised.”_

_They sat there in silence, wincing at Reiner’s pain filled screams. A little while later a guard came by with some food. Annie remembered being filled with dry rice and water but she was starving again._

_“How often do they feed you?” Annie asked._

_Bertholdt was concerned with the speed at which Annie was eating._

_“Twice a day. This is the first time they’ve come by today.” Bertholdt frowned at Annie’s excited expression. “How often did they feed you?”_

_“Once every week.”_

_Bertholdt handed over his share and watched Annie wolf it down. Annie curled up in the corner again and fell asleep, this time with a comfortably full stomach._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. I thought I would give Annie a rest because it was killing me to write her so distressed even though that's pretty much the whole fic. I'm excited to write about little Ymir and Krista living with Mikasa and Annie. Thanks for reading! You guys are great!


	8. Chapter Eight: Getting Better One Step at a Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie bonds with Krista

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This is a pretty cute chapter to be honest and I had a lot of fun writing it. I have a feeling Annie is going to end up as the irresponsible parent. Mikasa is going to have a lot of trouble on her hands later on.

Mikasa woke up at around six the next morning to find that Annie was actually sleeping normally. She thought it would be good to let her sleep peacefully so she quietly got out of bed and headed to the kitchen to make breakfast. If Ymir and Krista hadn’t been sitting at the table in the kitchen Mikasa would have completely forgotten about them.

“Good morning Mikasa!” Ymir piped.

“Good morning,” Krista repeated, more timid than Ymir.

“Good morning,” Mikasa said with a smile, “any breakfast requests?”

“How about some pancakes, eggs, and coffee?” Annie requested.

She was walking out of her room with her grey hoodie and some black running shorts on. It was such a weird combination but Mikasa never questioned it. The dark circles that were usually under her eyes weren’t as obvious as they normally would have been and she seemed a little bit more energetic today all because she was able to sleep in peace for a night.

“Annie!” Krista beamed before running to hug the half asleep blonde.

Annie’s eyes widened in shock from the surprise hug. A small smile found its way to her face and she kneeled down so that her eyes met Krista’s. She returned Krista’s hug.

“Good morning, Krista,” Annie smirked.

It was kind of an awkward exchange for Annie because she had never been too fond of kids. She knew Mikasa would have to help her a lot if they were going to be raising the two girls. Mikasa thought that keeping the two girls would help Annie out but it also made Mikasa nervous. She was scared that Annie might strangle or hurt one of them accidentally if she had another flashback or nightmare.

 

***

 

Going out of town for a day to get clothes for Krista and Ymir proved to be a difficult task. Krista preferred to wander around with Annie which led to absolutely no progress in the area of getting Krista clothes. However, Ymir actually wanted to get out of the store as fast as possible so she went with Mikasa directly to the clothes section. When Ymir had at least a week’s worth of clothing, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a stuffed animal she and Mikasa went to go find Annie and Krista.

They found the two browsing in the movie section. Annie was carrying Krista and Krista was pointing to a movie on the rack.

“Are you sure you want that one?” Annie asked.

Krista nodded to confirm that, yes, that was the movie she wanted and Annie grabbed it off the rack. When they turned to walk off they saw a very disapproving Mikasa and Ymir.

“Annie what are you doing?” Mikasa inquired.

“Well we were going to look at clothes but that was really boring so we came over here to look at movies instead,” Annie said with a smile.

Mikasa was glad that Annie was finally happy after months of terror and depression but she really wanted to be at home. She pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a small sigh.

“You two come on.”

Krista and Annie looked at each other and frowned. Reluctantly they made their way to the clothes section, then the oral care, and finally the toy section where Krista was allowed to pick out a stuffed animal. They made their way to the front and checked out.

_“Annie. Annie, wake up!” Bertholdt was shaking Annie awake and Annie was trying to protest._

_“What do you want Bertholdt?” Annie groaned._

_“The guard brought you new clothes because yours are pretty torn up and our second ration for today.”_

_At the sound of ‘new clothes’ and ‘ration’ Annie sat up and ate first. When she finished she put on her new clothes that were way too baggy for her skeletal frame. They were much more comfortable than the ones she had been wearing. Her old clothes reeked of alcohol and lemon juice._

_“Feel better?” Bertholdt asked._

_“Loads better,” Annie responded._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Keep being awesome guys.


	9. Chapter Nine: We All Saw This Coming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie makes a mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Yep this is a feelsy sort of chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

That night when they fell asleep Annie didn’t sleep as peacefully as she had the night before. In fact, she was a lot more restless that night than any other night before.

_Annie wanted to die. She had woken up strapped to the chair again and this time she knew Titan wasn’t going to go easy on her._

_“Morning, beautiful,” Titan cooed, rubbing his thumb over the stitched up gash on her face and causing her to flinch._

_It took her a while to realize it but she was stripped down to nothing but her bra and underwear. For the first time she stared at her body. Fresh wounds and scars littered her emaciated form._

_“What do you want ass hat?” Annie spat._

_Titan laughed at his weak torture subject, “Oh so you think insults are going to make me treat you any better?”_

_He drove the knife he was holding through Annie’s thigh before slowly dragging it along her protruding hip bones and ribs. She tried to hold back her screams because she knew they gave him pleasure but occasionally he would dig the knife deeper and would get a scream past her lips. However, for the most part breathy whimpers escaped her mouth._

Someone was standing next to Annie and shaking her awake. No, three people. Annie’s stressed out brain kicked in and all she could see was Titan and his two men, the same two that kept her awake by throwing the freezing water on her and occasionally zapping her with a taser. Her instincts took over and she tackled Titan to the ground, strangling him once again. One of his men tried pulling her off of him but Annie kicked him in the stomach and knocked him over. The other one was successful because she had been caught off guard. Lying on her back, Annie came to her senses.

Mikasa was on her hands and knees, coughing and gasping for air. Krista was lying on her side facing the opposite direction. Small sobs were coming from her small form. Staring down at Annie was the freckled face of Ymir. In that moment all Annie could feel was guilt. Tears welled up in her eyes as she got up and ran over to Krista, turning the tiny blonde onto her back. She winced as Krista let out a small yelp of pain when Annie touched her right ribcage.

“I’m so sorry, Krista. I’m so sorry. I’m…” Annie’s words trailed off and tears began to fall from her eyes.

“I-it’s okay,” the five year old muttered. “I know you’re not okay and that’s okay.” Krista winced. “It hurts to breathe, Annie.”

 _Shit,_ Annie thought to herself.

“I’m going to check for broken ribs okay? I’ll have to touch where it hurts but I need to know if we need to go to the hospital.”

“Okay.”

Annie lifted up Krista’s shirt to reveal her abdomen. The scrawny five year old flinched when Annie’s finger tips touched the area she had kicked.

“Mikasa, are you okay to drive?”

Mikasa nodded and got up.

“I’ll get her dressed. You just get yourself dressed,” Mikasa rasped.

She walked over to Krista and picked her up. Krista flailed a little bit and Mikasa was trying not to drop her while running into Krista and Ymir’s room. Ymir followed and Annie closed the door so that she could get dressed.

Everyone gathered in the living room while Mikasa was getting dressed. Krista was lying on the couch and Annie was sitting beside her, running her fingers through her hair. Krista smiled at Annie’s attempt to make her feel better and Mikasa finally came out. Annie picked Krista up and they all headed out the door towards the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... maybe not as feelsy as I made it sound but it was one of those ones that hurt to write. Oh well. This has been another chapter of Getting Better.


	10. Chapter Ten: Prisoners of War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie dreams about the days of when she was captured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This chapter is just a lot of flashback. I mean, there's a flashback inside of the flashback. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Annie sat in the back with Krista, who was crying and clutching her side. With every hiccup-like breath she took she let out a little yelp of pain that caused Annie to feel unbelievably guilty. Mikasa was driving as fast as she possibly could without getting pulled over and Annie could tell she was exhausted. Annie dismissed the thought of Mikasa falling asleep at the wheel and fell asleep herself.

_If there was a record for most stitches on a live human being Annie was sure she would have broken it long ago. The twenty four long, gashes in her ribs had been stitched up, the stab wound in her left thigh was being stitched up, and then there was the gash that ran along her right jaw line. She knew she would have tons of scars as constant reminders of this day._

_She thought back to when she was first taken along with the older Ymir and Krista, Eren, Armin, Reiner, Bertholdt, Sasha, Connie, Marco, Jean, Mina, and Thomas. They were on a private scouting mission in Iraq trying to find and kill the man that had taken them and tortured them. They weren’t captured all at once; just enough people were captured at a time so that no one was thrown off. It had been Mina and Thomas first and then Ymir, Krista, and Armin were taken before Marco noticed that something was wrong. Before anyone could even breathe again there was a bright flash and everyone was knocked out._

_They woke up crammed together in the back of a cargo truck. They had all been stripped of their weapons and most of their clothing. Annie was thankful that they were all stripped down to the bare minimum because it was extremely hot in the back of the truck and everyone being crowded together didn’t help. It was dark as well but Annie’s eyes had adjusted to it a while ago. She was smashed up against a corner surrounded by Mina, Bertholdt, Reiner, and Sasha._

_Hours later someone in the back of the truck threw up. It already smelled terrible in the cargo compartment because they hadn’t been able to do their business for a very long while. It reminded Annie of the Holocaust. Surprising everyone, the truck stopped abruptly and the doors swung open._

_“Alright you little shits get out,” a guy as buff as Reiner and as tall as Bertholdt ordered._

_Without delay everyone gladly spilled out of the truck. They were all given a few sips of water and a small slice of bread which everyone savored. Before they were told to get back in the truck the man pointed to Krista._

_“You, come here,” he grunted._

_Krista was hesitant but she slowly walked towards him. Ymir was doing all she could to hold herself back and not attack the bastard that was messing with her girlfriend._

_Two other men came around with a chair with straps and a wide arrangement of knives, scissors, and other various sharp tools. Krista realized what was going on and started running. Still weak from the lack of food and water, she wasn’t running very fast and was tackled by one of the guys that brought the chair._

_She died at the hands of those men being cut upon, beaten, and whipped. All of them had to watch, including a very pained Ymir. The screams coming from her as they slowly severed her life away caused as much pain to hear as it did to watch them do it. Ymir was on her knees screaming and trying to get away from the guard that had restrained her._

_After a very long time when most of Krista’s flesh was hacked away they unstrapped her from the chair and dumped her weak form on the ground. They let Ymir go and allowed her to hold Krista in her arms one last time before she died. Ymir was angry and attacked Krista’s torturer, only to receive a very deep gash in her side. There she was left to die and rot next to her girlfriend._

_“All done,” the nurse said, snapping Annie back to reality._

_Annie realized that the voice wasn’t the voice of the usual nurse and the cloth that usually covered most of her face was, in fact, a red scarf._

_“When I say run, run.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah... so another feelsy chapter not aimed towards Annie for once. Well it is aimed towards Annie but you know what I mean. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	11. Chapter Eleven: All Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krista's rib issue is fixed.  
> Ymir is a lot nicer than she lets on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This would have been updated a lot sooner but I decided to work out with my mom. You know those T25 Focus work out videos with the guy that does Insanity? Yeah never again. Well, here's chapter 11. Enjoy!

 

Ymir really wanted Annie to stop pacing around in the waiting room. Ymir didn’t understand what the big deal was about broken bones. You just have to get it set and have a cast put on for a while, that was it. Annie worrying made her worry and Ymir didn’t like to worry because it just caused problems for everyone.

Mikasa had gone back with Krista to get the x-ray and it brought back memories of when she busted Annie, Bertholdt, and Reiner out of Titan’s base.

_Thankfully, the plan to get Annie and the others out of that hell hole of a place worked because it would have cost the lives of everyone if it hadn’t worked._

_Mikasa and the rest of the squad stocked up on guns, grenades, and knives, they were gonna kill some bitches. Just like they had planned, the cargo plane headed for Titan’s base flew over them. They had managed to place a giant magnetic pulsar Armin created to knock out their radar on board the plane. Everyone ran to the cars and sped off towards the base._

_At the base they headed towards the center of the base. There were no guards around because all of them were dealing with the cargo plane, checking to see if they planned on attacking them. Wandering through the maze, they shot down anyone that got in their way until eventually they reached the torture chamber where Annie was. Titan was in the middle of raping her when they barged in so it was rather awkward for everyone._

_The fight when a little something like this. Titan looked up from his position over Annie, dick hanging out of his pants, and looked completely horrified. He quickly shoved his junk back in his pants but before he could button up his pants Mikasa shoved a grenade into his underwear, shot his legs and arms, and threw him into the corner of the room. They evacuated and closed the door, Mikasa carrying Annie, in just enough time before the grenade went off._

_After that great adventure they went off to find the holding cells. With Annie’s help they found Reiner and Bertholdt and quickly left the compound before the guards could figure out what was going on._

_Everyone made it out okay but Annie’s condition caused her to slip into a coma for a month. Even after that she had to stay in the hospital for a few weeks so she could gain her strength back and go through therapy._

_Mikasa never left Annie’s bedside and stressed about it so much she didn’t eat and barely slept. She was so scared that Annie wouldn’t wake up and the fear engulfed her like a flame. Most of the time she would just look at all of Annie’s visible scars, taking in all the damage that had been done to her best friend, to pass the time. Every once in a while she would take into account how skinny and underweight Annie was when she held onto her bony hand and rubbed circles around it with her thumb. Seeing the only person left that she could consider family like that was mentally draining for her._

When Krista came out with Mikasa she was eating a cherry lollipop and seemed just fine. Annie knew that they had most likely injected a long-lasting anesthesia around the ribs so that she wouldn’t feel it for a while. Mikasa was holding Krista’s hand in one hand and a compression wrap in the other.

“Annie!” Krista beamed as she ran to the nervous blonde.

Annie knelt down and outstretched her arms to embrace Krista in a hug. All the built up guilt seemed to flood out of her at once and a small smile found its way to her face once again.

“Hey, kiddo! You feeling alright?” Annie asked.

Krista nodded and Annie tousled her hair. Annie picked her up and held her as they walked out of the waiting room back to the car.

“What do you want for lunch?” Annie asked Krista while sitting her down and buckling her seatbelt.

A corner of the five year old’s mouth turned down in thought.

“I don’t know, ask Ymir. She always let me pick so now it’s her turn,” Krista suggested.

“So, Ymir, your pick. Where do you want to go?”

“Taco Bell,” was Ymir’s reply.

“Ymir, I know you don’t like Taco Bell. You just want to go because that’s what I want. Pick somewhere that you actually like,” Krista pleaded.

“Fine, let’s go to McDonalds.”

After everyone got situated Mikasa drove out of the hospital parking lot and towards the nearest McDonalds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to say you guys are the B E S T. 30 kudos is great and I want to thank you guys that stick with the story even though it probably isn't the best you've ever read. Thank you all!


	12. Chapter Twelve: In Remembrance Of...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie remembers when she first joined the military.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So this is a really short chapter and I'm sorry for that but I've been having writers block so it kind of just screws everything up. Anyway, I'm starting a new fic! It's a zombie apocalypse au (still Attack on Titan) so if you're into that go check out the preview I posted yesterday. Thanks!

The drive home was very long and very, _very_ boring. Ymir complained every five minutes but Krista never said a word. In fact, she had fallen asleep and was leaning on Annie’s arm. Her arm had gone numb and Krista was drooling but it didn’t bother Annie like it would have if it was any other kid. Krista was one of the nicest people she had met as an adult and as a little kid.

_While she was in the coma, Annie dreamt of older missions she had been on with her army buddies and good times they had actually had together even in the face of danger. She even dreamt about boot camp training._

_Reiner and Bertholdt were the first people she met and became friends with during their first day of training. For a while she had just talked to them and a couple other people, but only those people if she necessarily had to. She met everyone else when she, Reiner, and Bertholdt were split up during a group training exercise. That was how she met everyone else that had been captured tortured and/or used for medical experiments and killed._

_It was a night mission assignment where they used different paintball guns that were designed and worked like the guns they were learning to use to dominate the other team. They were given night vision goggles, their guns, ammunition, and a map. They were given a base but weren’t told where the other base was. It was basically capture the flag but without the flag._

_Mikasa had taken charge and directed the groups while Armin was locating something on the map. It wasn’t until Annie stepped on one that she knew what he was locating. The battlefield was filled with paint mines. Annie heard the click and froze in her tracks but let up her foot anyway only to be met with a large paint explosion. She was still washing neon pink paint out of her hair three days later. However, Annie didn’t care. It was her favorite training exercise._

_Later on in the actual battlefield when they had actual missions Annie always came back completely terrified. Krista was the only one that could keep any of their hopes up, especially Ymir. Once when squad 104, their squad, got trapped in a cave after an enemy-made landslide and everyone thought that they were going to suffocate or die of thirst. Krista would have starved to death, giving her rations away and all, if Ymir hadn’t convinced her to eat something. A week after that Ymir was planning on killing herself but Krista was able to stop her. They got out a month later but none of them forgot._

Annie had begun to doze off but woke up instantly when the car began to swerve off the road. Mikasa had fallen asleep at the wheel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I hope you enjoyed this chapter even though it's not my best. I'll try for a better chapter tomorrow but I have stuff planned so It should all work out.


	13. Chapter Thirteen: The End. Well... Not Quite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie questions real life and dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm pretty sure this is going to be the last chapter with this fic. You'll see why. Enjoy!

“SHIT! MIKASA, WAKE UP!” Annie screamed.

Mikasa woke up in just enough time to swerve out of the way of a car coming at them from oncoming traffic. Krista still slept through all of that and Annie was amazed. Ymir, on the other hand, had screamed and turned her head away from the road. Mikasa decided it was a good idea to pull over and recover from the scare.

“Mikasa, why don’t you let me drive?” Annie groaned before stumbling out of the car and getting rid of her stomach bile. She was glad she hadn’t eaten breakfast.

“You’re not stable enough,” Mikasa yawned.

“Well you’re not stable at all right now so for the time being I have a lower chance of crashing. Get some sleep, you need it.”

After thinking about it for a considerable amount of time, Mikasa got out of the driver’s seat and slipped into the back where little Krista was. She had slumped over to rest against the door of the sleek electric blue Ford Fusion.

Annie got situated in the driver’s seat but sat there for a few minutes with her hand on the steering wheel before she actually went anywhere. She hadn’t driven in months, she hadn’t needed to. Mikasa drove her everywhere she needed to go because she hadn’t been stable until a few days ago.

_A few days ago,_ Annie thought. Now that she was thinking about it everything started happening a few days ago. She got out of her depression and began eating normally again, she didn’t have a total nightmare for the first time since they started, and she found Krista and Ymir outside her house a few days ago… _No, this happened when Krista and Ymir were little. They told me the story. Ymir’s parents died a long time ago and she was on the streets when Krista’s parents were killed. Krista found her and they went into a store where a scary man, not Levi, found them wandering around. Ymir had a couple of dollars, enough for a candy bar. The man saw that they were dirty, tired, and starving so he took them with him. He knew a couple that needed the kids for company. One had Posttraumatic Stress Disorder after a war._

The thought haunted her for the rest of the ride home. She lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling and trying to comprehend what she had just figured out. It scared her to think that their first life had been exactly the same.

A knock on the door startled Annie but she got up to answer it. There he stood, the real him, right there in the door way. As much as she wanted it to be, it wasn’t a dream. A gag was put in her mouth and a burlap sac over head before he tied her hands and feet together.

“I wasn’t finished with you yet you bad, bad girl,” Titan hissed in her ear.

“Mikasa!” the five year old yelled, gaping at the scene unfolding in front of her.

By the time Mikasa came out it was too late. Titan had dragged Annie to his car and threw her in the trunk before getting in the driver’s seat. Mikasa did what she could do and called the police. They never found Titan’s car.

 

***

 

Annie was tied down to a chair before the burlap sac was removed from her head. She was glad she could see again but she wasn’t too happy to see Titan standing there with a gun to her head.

“You know too much. Time to wake up, _Annie._ ” The way Titan said her name made her cringe.

The gun went off and Annie’s body slumped down in the chair.

 

***

 

Her eyes shot open. Annie was in a hospital bed in a room that looked like it hadn’t been touched in weeks. Her head was throbbing where Titan shot her and she slowly slipped out of bed into the bathroom.

She looked at herself in the mirror and saw that the scars that Titan had left there in her dreams. However, she felt that those scars hadn’t been put there by Titan. Her skin was taut against her skeletal frame and her once icy blue eyes were now a dull grey color. They did that when she didn’t get enough sun or when she didn’t eat enough food. It was the easiest way to tell if she was eating like she was supposed to. The sound of moaning outside her hospital room door pulled her attention away from herself.

Walking towards her door she was actually nervous to see what she would find. Slowly, she pulled the door open a crack so she could peek outside. The noise came from a human that was clearly not human at all. Annie knew what was happening and she didn’t like it.

“Shit,” she mumbled under her breath, waiting for the zombie to walk past her room before closing the door. She was definitely in for an insane afternoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this fic is actually going to be the prequel to my other fic, One Choice. Writers block brought along this idea and I actually quite liked it. To clarify why Annie's remembrance of Krista and Ymir's past tied into her own life because she secretly wanted to raise kids with Mikasa. She created her own scenario of Krista and Ymir's past because it had been much like her own. Since she was reliving their past, they were her kids. I will be updating One Choice soon so don't worry! It's coming!


	14. I'm So Sorry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternate ending guys. It's important.

Okay so I'm very unhappy with how I ended this fic.  _Very_ unhappy. Since I am so unhappy I have to fix it. There will be an alternate ending that I will be posting possibly later tonight and there will now be more chapters daily. It will better lead up to the other fic. I'm so sorry for that really crappy ending and so I will make it up to you guys.


	15. Alternate Chapter Thirteen: Driving and Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie drives home and bonds with Ymir.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So yeah I was really upset with the original ending so I'm giving it a better one. The original ending will stay posted because I think it's still important if you're reading the Attack on Titan Zombie Chronicles. Please read and enjoy!

 

“SHIT! MIKASA, WAKE UP!” Annie screamed.

Mikasa woke up in just enough time to swerve out of the way of a car coming at them from oncoming traffic. Krista still slept through all of that and Annie was amazed. Ymir, on the other hand, had screamed and turned her head away from the road. Mikasa decided it was a good idea to pull over and recover from the scare.

“Mikasa, why don’t you let me drive?” Annie groaned before stumbling out of the car and getting rid of her stomach bile. She was glad she hadn’t eaten breakfast.

“You’re not stable enough,” Mikasa yawned.

“Well you’re not stable at all right now so for the time being I have a lower chance of crashing. Get some sleep, you need it.”

After thinking about it for a considerable amount of time, Mikasa got out of the driver’s seat and slipped into the passenger’s seat where Ymir was. Mikasa thought it would be a good idea to have Ymir sit in the back incase Annie ended up crashing the car. Seconds after Mikasa put on her seatbelt she fell asleep.

Checking her rearview mirror, Annie smiled at her two favorite kids sitting in the back of the car.

“Just try not to kill us okay?” Ymir practically pleaded.

“I’ll try not to,” I promised.

 

***

 

They got back home all in one piece but Annie’s driving left little Ymir scarred for life. Annie had been an insane driver even before she left for war and came back terrified of things normal people wouldn’t have been terrified of. Ymir was surprised that Krista and Mikasa managed to sleep through it all.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to kill us!” Ymir screamed at Annie as they walked through the apartment door.

“We _are_ alive,” Annie sassed back.

“I got carsick twice because of you!”

“Oh, please, you’re fine.”

“Would you two _please_ knock it off,” Mikasa muttered sleepily. “You fight like an old married couple.”

That pulled an, “Ew!” from both of their mouths simultaneously and brought smiles to the exhausted faces of Mikasa and Krista.

“Why don’t you two go to sleep? Ymir and I should be fine,” Annie suggested.

Krista yawned sleepily and nodded, taking Mikasa’s hand so they could go get ready for an afternoon nap. As they left Annie stared down at Ymir who looked kind of sad that Krista and Mikasa were gone. Annie actually felt bad for the small five year old.

Ymir and Krista had a Dean and Sam type relationship even though they were nothing like the two hunters. They both looked out for each other but Krista had a hard time protecting and taking care of herself so Ymir usually took care of that. They would do anything for each other and it made Annie wondered what happened to the two of them before they were in Mikasa and her care.

By the looks of them when they first got there they had run away from the foster home a while before they knocked on the apartment door. The big give away was that they were both filthy and scrawny, Ymir obviously dirtier and skinnier than Krista. Annie watched _Supernatural_ so she knew how that went with Ymir making sure Krista was fed and happy before she took care of herself. She admired Ymir for that.

“Annie?” Ymir was tugging on the hem of her shirt.

Annie knelt down so she could be eye level with Ymir.

“Yes?” She replied.

“I’m sorry for being so mean. I was just really scared.”

“It’s okay I understand. In case you haven’t noticed I’m not the best with kids or driving.”

“Please promise you won’t hurt Krista anymore. I mean, I know you mean no harm to her but she’s like the only family I have left.”

“I swear on Mikasa I won’t.”

“Thanks. Can we watch a movie?”

“Sure.”

Annie patted Ymir on the head and they walked over to the couch. For once they were starting to get along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I know I'm out of school but I'm taking virtual school classes so I should be updating daily unless I get caught up in school work. Like Bowling for Soup says: high school never ends. Not the same concept as the song buy you know.


	16. Chapter Fourteen: Goal!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie finds out that Ymir enjoys watching and playing soccer. Maybe it won't be that difficult for them to get along...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Yes, it is world cup time. I love soccer and I needed an au where Annie loved it too because she just seems like that type of person.

An hour later, a little after three, Mikasa woke to both Annie and Ymir yelling. Mikasa ran her fingers through her hair and got up to go see what they were fighting about this time. However, when she got to the living room they weren’t fighting at all or even yelling at each other. The World Cup game, Netherlands vs. Germany, was on and they were both yelling at Van Persie to get onsides. Most of the yelling was done by Annie but Ymir seemed to know what was going on as well. Ymir knew a lot about soccer for a five year old.

Krista came out to the living room a minute or two after Mikasa, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. Mikasa looked down at the tiny five year old and knew that they were both wondering the same thing. What the hell is happening?

 

***

 

Ymir couldn’t decide on a movie so Annie decided to take her out again instead to go to the park. Even though she really hated Annie’s driving, Ymir really wanted to get out of the house and go to the park for a little bit.

“We have to be back before three though,” Annie mentioned.

“Why?” Ymir whined.

“The World Cup opening game for Germany is today and they’re playing the Netherlands. They’re my two favorite teams.”

“You like soccer?”

“I played from when I was four to the end of high school, of course I love soccer. It’s the only sport I like to watch and play.”

“Before my parents died they used to take me to soccer games all the time.”

“We should go to one some time. I can sign you up to play too if you want.”

Ymir’s face lit up.

“Really?”

“Sure, why not.”

“When does it start?”

“I think next month.”

“Okay.”

They both got in the car and headed towards the park.

At the park Ymir saw one of her friends from the foster home so, to Annie’s relief, all Annie really had to do was watch her. They played tag for a while before going to the swings until it was time to leave.

On the way back from the park Annie got hungry again so they stopped at Annie’s favorite coffee shop to get something to drink and some pastries. Ymir picked out some chocolate milk and a blueberry muffin while Annie got her usual black coffee and cheese danish. Overall Ymir thought it had been a pretty good day despite the fact that it started off pretty badly.

 

***

 

“Are you two having fun there?” Mikasa giggled.

Annie was wearing her Netherlands jersey and had given Ymir her Germany jersey to wear. There were soda cans scattered across the table surrounding a bowl full of popcorn and a pizza box with over half the pizza gone. How the two of them managed to eat over half of an extra large pizza by themselves and still eat popcorn befuddled Mikasa.

“I would be if Van Persie would _get onsides_ so he can score,” Annie angrily mumbled. “By the way we’re signing Ymir up for soccer when the time comes.”

The referee on the television blew the whistle and ran to one of the defensive Germany players holding a yellow card.

“Ha! Suck my dick Lahm!” Annie yelled.

“Annie, really? The kids -”

“Will not repeat it after me, right guys?”

Both girls nodded in agreement.

“Fine, but by the way, you don’t have a dick,” Mikasa smiled.

“You would know.”

Annie and Ymir returned their attention to the screen to see Robben take the kick just outside of the box and Van Persie head the ball in.

“Goooooooooooooal!” Annie screamed.

“It’s about time,” Ymir added.

Maybe they wouldn’t have such a hard time getting along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I picked the Netherlands and Germany because I figured that would be one hell of a kickass game. I also chose soccer because it just seemed like something Annie and Ymir would bond over and I play soccer so yeah.


	17. Chapter Fifteen: Sick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie ends up sick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry this is a really short and non-progressive chapter. I just kinda needed something there. I don't know. But here it is.

_“You know too much,” Titan hissed in Annie’s ear, “and that’s why you will not be leaving alive or at all.”_

_Annie was strapped down to the familiar torture chair but was so weak she probably didn’t even need to be strapped down. The cause of all of this was the sleep and water deprivation and starvation. It had been five days since she was able to sleep last, a week since she had eaten last, and they were giving her just enough water to keep her alive. Dying slowly was not something she wanted to do, especially at the hands of Titan the Bastard. She couldn’t lift her head up on her own anymore and it was all she could do to talk._

_“What do you mean?” she squeaked. Her voice no longer worked correctly._

_“I mean,” he cut a long gash through her abdomen and earning a scream, “you know too much about Ymir and Krista.”_

_“They’re dead so what does it matter?”_

_“No they’re not. They’re alive right now and you’ll find them when you get out of this place, maybe.”_

_She didn’t know what he was talking about since Krista and Ymir were killed right in front of her. At the moment she didn’t think she would even live to see tomorrow and was surprised she hadn’t died from infections yet. All she wanted to do was eat or sleep. All she wanted to do was **live** and it was clear that was probably not going to happen. _

“Annie?” Mikasa was shaking her awake from her side of the bed.

“Huh?” Annie groaned, still half asleep.

“You were kicking around in your sleep again. Is everything okay?”

She remembered what Titan said in her nightmare about Krista and Ymir still being alive. For some reason she had a feeling he didn’t mean in their five year old selves.

“Y-yeah I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”

Mikasa brought Annie into a hug even though she was drenched in sweat.

“What’s wrong, baby?”

_Damn it she’s concerned._ Annie thought. _She has every right to be…_

“Nothing, just another nightmare.”

Mikasa slid her hand under Annie’s shirt and began rubbing her back to help her calm down. No matter how many times she felt or saw Annie’s many different scars they made her want to cry. While Annie was getting starved and deprived of everything she was getting full meals and plenty of sleep and water. It made her feel so guilty every time even though she knew she couldn’t have done anything until she did.

“Do you want any water or anything?”

“Coffee sounds good.”

“Annie, as much as I love you it is three in the morning and I am not making you coffee. Besides you’d never go back to sleep.”

“That’s why they invented decaf.”

“Still too much effort.”

Annie sat up in bed and suddenly ran to the bathroom, having suddenly felt extremely ill, and left behind a trail of vomit. She didn’t know what was wrong but the contents of her stomach wouldn’t stop coming out of her mouth. Mikasa came into the bathroom after cleaning up Annie’s mess and sat there with her, rubbing her back.

She never felt better after that and Mikasa considered going to the hospital again. Annie didn’t like that idea since they had already been there the day before and insisted that she was just sick. She promised that if it got too terrible she would go to the hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I made it short because I needed to have something to write about. Oh yes! This fic will most likely not be updated daily for about three weeks because I'm going somewhere so... yeah. Sorry about that too.


	18. Chapter Sixteen: Starved

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Yes, I am alive! My vacation is going pretty great and I finally got some time to write. Therefore, I give you chapter sixteen.

All day she lay on the couch wrapped up in numerous blankets and wearing her hoodie and sweatpants. Since Mikasa had to go back to work Krista and Ymir took care of her which she didn’t like the idea of since she could get the two of them sick. As much as she hated the idea of the kids taking care of her she really had no choice. She had a feeling a while before she would be getting better so eventually she accepted it.

Krista tried everything to coax some water or Gatorade into Annie but it was practically impossible. Annie wouldn’t eat or drink anything in fear that it would come right back up. Vomiting was not one of her favorite things to do and she would do whatever she could to avoid it, just like Ymir was doing everything she could to avoid Annie.

“Annie, please drink something. For me?” Krista begged.

Annie shook her head weakly and Krista sighed in defeat. Seconds later Annie made a small whimpering noise before emptying what little she had in her stomach into the trashcan next to the couch just before Mikasa walked in.

“Oh my god, Annie, are you okay?” Mikasa asked, running to her aid.

“No, I’ve been hit by a smooth criminal,” Annie moaned.

“Ha ha, you’re so funny.” Mikasa rolled her eyes.

“Mikasa, Annie won’t drink anything,” Krista mentioned.

Mikasa’s eyes widened and she looked speechless.

“Annie, we’re going to the hospital right now.”

“I-I’m fine.”

“No you’re not fine you’re sweating buckets and you won’t drink anything. You’re super dehydrated so, please, drink something or we’re going to the hospital.”

Annie heaved out some more of her stomach contents out before agreeing. Mikasa took the cup of water from Krista and held it to Annie’s lips. She took a few sips before she pushed the cup away. A little bit after drinking the water she looked better than she did earlier and Mikasa was relieved. She kissed Annie’s forehead and told her to get some sleep. That’s exactly what she did.

_Annie couldn’t feel anything below her stomach. Titan had cut her open and was preforming some form of surgery on her, ignoring her screaming as he always did. The screaming, however, was silent. Her throat was dry and she realized that she was gagged with a disgusting vomit flavored towel. The vomit was her own of course because her stomach didn’t like the effects of some of the drugs that Titan injected into her from time to time. The towel was to soak any liquid from her mouth so she would suffer dehydration._

_“Aww, look at that. You’re poor stomach is so small,” Titan said as he began quickly stitching her back up. “It’s a shame because I have all this wonderful food that needs to be eaten.”_

_Titan waved his hand towards the door and as if on cue his men rolled in a cart loaded with steaming hot foods. The aroma made Annie’s mouth water and her empty stomach longed for food. Titan took the towel gag from her mouth and poured some water down her throat but never put the gag back on. She knew she wasn’t getting anything to eat today, was she? She couldn’t have been since she was strapped down to the table still. Her stomach didn’t know any better and let out a low rumble, followed by a whimper that slipped past her lips without consent._

_“Poor baby, you must be starving.” The malicious smile on Titan’s face worried Annie._

_Before she knew it she was being flipped onto her stomach, which had just been cut open minutes ago, and was stripped of her shirt. Her back was cleaned off with rubbing alcohol which burned her raw back. That wasn’t even the worst part._

_Titan sat down next to her with a cup of hot coffee in one hand and a cup of hot tea in the other. He placed them on her back, being sure to spill some of the boiling hot liquid onto her skin. She yelped and flinched, only to spill both cups completely on her back. Tears streamed down her face as the scalding hot liquid slid down her sides._

_“More coffee and tea please waiter!” Titan called. “And where is my food? I’m starving.”_

_Annie grimaced at his comment. Starving? He didn’t know a thing about starving. Her thoughts were interrupted by the smell of a perfectly prepared steak. There was nothing she wanted more right now than steak or any kind of food for that matter. Her stomach let out another growl of hope that maybe, just maybe, she would be fed today._

_The burning hot steak was placed directly on Annie’s back without a plate or anything. She let out another yelp of pain and surprise when she felt the fork in her back and a knife sawing through her skin in an area where the steak had been. In the most taunting way possible, Titan waved the chunk of meat on the fork in front of Annie’s face and occasionally put it right under her nose which was close enough for her to eat it but pulled it away before she could get it. Her bottom lip began to quiver when Titan put the piece of meat in his mouth._

_“Don’t worry, you can have the scraps.”_

_Course after course of food came and Annie was stabbed and cut multiple times during the meal. Annie knew she wasn’t going to be fed today and had finally accepted it when her back and sides were cleaned off to make sure she didn’t even get to taste the food. Once she was taken from her bonds she was thrown, still shirtless, into her cell. She looked like a kicked puppy._

_“Here’s the scraps you were promised,” Titan spat._

_Gristle, fat, and the bone from the steak, and a skimpy piece of bread were thrown to her in a plastic bag. She practically tore the bag open and shoved the juice soaked piece of bread into her mouth. The gristle and fat she ate greedily, glad that she had something to fill her empty stomach. Later she chewed on the bone like a dog to see if it would satisfy the still lingering hunger._

Annie woke up in her bed with Mikasa sitting next to her and running her fingers through her blonde hair that was soaked with sweat.

“You’re hungry,” Mikasa cooed. “You only drool in your sleep when you dream of food which only happens when-” Her sentence was cut short by Annie’s gurgling stomach.

Annie looked up Mikasa and looked like she was about to cry.

“You dreamt about Titan, didn’t you?”

She nodded her head and started crying.

“What did you dream about this time?”

“It was a few months in and I was starving half to death. Titan decided to steal my shirt, clean my back, and used me as a human table. He taunted me with food that smelled _so good_ and all I could do was sit there and whimper as he ate,” Annie sobbed.

“I’m sorry, baby.” Mikasa leaned down and hugged Annie after kissing her forehead again.

Both of them heard a gasp and looked over to see Ymir and Krista standing in the doorway. Knowing that they had heard about Annie’s bad experiences Mikasa just sighed and got up from the bed.

“I’ll make you some soup. You’ll feel better I promise.”

Mikasa took the hands of the two girls standing by the door and headed to the kitchen to make Annie some soup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you will leave comments for me. Comments are always nice.


	19. Chapter Seventeen: Left 4 Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie, Mikasa, Ymir, and Krista play Left 4 Dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I found a nice quiet place to write fanfiction. There may not be an update tomorrow though because I will be traveling again.

“Mikasa, what happened to Annie?” Ymir questioned.

“She had a nightmare as always,” she replied.

Mikasa knew that wasn’t what Ymir was asking about and that there was no avoiding this conversation but she didn’t want to talk about it.

“No, I mean before now. She said something about a guy named Titan that hurt her.”

“That’s a conversation to save for when you’re older.”

“Okay.”

Ymir sounded rather disappointed and left the kitchen to go sit on the couch. Before Mikasa knew it she heard moaning, yelling, and gunfire. She turned around to see that Annie had made it to the couch again and was playing Left 4 Dead with Ymir on the X-box.

She rolled her eyes before yelling, “Annie, what are you doing?!”

“What? She wanted to play and I was happy to play with her,” Annie yelled back.

“Annie, I need some help here!” Ymir warned.

“I’m coming, I’m coming chill out.”

“Annie, they’re going to get me!”

Ymir’s yelling started to sound a bit more terrified than annoyed and Mikasa began to worry so she put Annie’s soup in the microwave and picked up a controller. Krista followed and did the same; even though she was scared of the zombies she knew Ymir would protect her.

“Scoot over, Annie, the professional is here,” Mikasa joked.

“Oh please.”

Together they played Left 4 Dead until dinner time with Ymir sitting at Annie’s feet (Annie wasn’t tall enough to take up the entire couch) and Krista sitting in Mikasa’s lap on the floor. At some point during the game Krista started crying since a zombie popped up out of nowhere and was about to kill her but Ymir came up from behind it and stabbed it. The soup in the microwave had been forgotten, as well as their hunger. Well, everyone’s but Krista’s. Krista had been hungry when the game started but lost her appetite when she saw all of the blood and gore. She knew she was going to have nightmares but she thought that the game was pretty fun.

“Should we have really let five year olds play this?” Mikasa was obviously concentrated on killing the Boomer.

“Eh, why not? They should be prepared for a zombie apocalypse,” was Annie’s reply.

“M-Mikasa?” Krista stuttered. Her voice was full of fear.

“Yes, dear?”

“I have to go to the bathroom.”

“Okay just a second.”

They didn’t get the chance to go since as soon as Mikasa killed the Boomer, another zombie popped right up in her face, scaring the piss, literally, out of Krista. Mikasa face palmed and Krista looked horrified, both from having peed in Mikasa’s lap and the unexpected zombie which Ymir killed.

“I’m so sorry, Mikasa!” Krista squeaked as tears streamed down her face.

Mikasa’s semi-annoyed look melted into a comforting look and she ran her long, slender fingers through Krista’s hair.

“Shhh, no it’s okay. It’s okay. Let’s just get cleaned up okay?” Mikasa mumbled.

“Yeah, yeah okay.”

After they cleaned up they decided that was enough Left 4 Dead for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the irony of the zombie apocalypse "training". Please comment because I will answer them and if you have any suggestions those would be nice and will be taken into consideration. I will give you credit for the idea and if for any reason I forget just tell me and I will give you credit because you deserve it.


	20. Chapter Eighteen: Reality Strikes Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie is learning more about what's actually happening than what she realizes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome to chapter eighteen of Getting Better! I feel really bad for Annie in this chapter so have fun reading it.

Annie was used to weird things by now but her dream that night scared her more than any other dreams she had had recently.

_Annie was surrounded by gigantic trees that were easily over sixty feet tall. She wasn’t alone and the moans and rustling assured her of that. The moon was full but the thick foliage of the trees blocked the light, leaving Annie still in darkness._

_“You know too much.” Titan’s voice was breathy as if it were made by the wind currently whipping through her golden locks of hair._

_He walked out of the shadows into a small little patch of moonlight that shined through the thick leaves. Behind him stood a very large number of zombies, or whatever you wish to call them, standing behind him. The group stretched in every direction, further than Annie’s eyes would allow her to see. She knew she was going to die soon but she also knew it wouldn’t be a quick death._

_“I created them you know,” Titan said, his voice back to normal. “Technically you, Ymir, Eren, Reiner, and Bertholdt are one of them too. That serum Armin created? He created it for me. I captured you all because I needed test subjects. Some of them turned instantly but I realized that five of you resisted it. You five resisted death itself. Most of the time I cut you with a knife coated in zombie blood or injected some of the virus into you to see if you would turn but you never did. That’s why you haven’t died in your coma yet.”_

_Annie stood there, unable to move as her friends from the 104 th that had been killed by the virus filled serum. Mina, Thomas, Connie, Sasha, Marco, Jean, Krista, and Armin stepped forward with a wave of Titan’s hand. Their eyes were dead and sunken. Parts of their bodies were missing, probably from all of Titan’s experiments. There was one zombie, though, that came from the very back that shouldn’t have been there, Mikasa _

_“Go ahead and eat her, my starving children.”_

_With that order they came towards her and started grabbing at her. Annie’s feet were glued to where she stood and before she knew it she was being torn apart and eaten. They tore at her abdomen and pulled her insides out, saving the heart for the only one who hadn’t taken a bit of Annie to munch on. Mikasa’s zombie form limped forward and the others parted for her. She bent down to the squirming Annie who was still alive, made immortal by the virus serum. Annie’s heart was torn out and eaten right in front of her._

Annie jumped awake on the couch before emptying her insides into the trashcan beside her. Mikasa had fallen asleep on the floor and woke up to rub Annie’s back and clean up after her.

“Another nightmare,” Mikasa stated. She had gotten used to it by now.

“This was worse than any nightmare I’ve ever had,” Annie shared. “Apparently Armin created the serum for Titan and everyone turned into zombies.”

“I think you should lay off the zombie games for a little bit.”

As reluctant as she was, Annie agreed.

“Sleep with me,” Annie invited.

“We both won’t fit on the couch,” Mikasa muttered sleepily.

“I meant in bed, silly.”

“Okay.”

Mikasa picked herself up off of the floor before going to the couch to help Annie up. Together they made their way to the bedroom and into bed. Neither of them had very much luck sleeping since Annie was violently shivering and Mikasa was worried about her. Eventually, Annie decided to snuggle up to Mikasa for warmth since she was like a personal heater. They stayed that way until Mikasa had to get up for work the next morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will leave comments for me because I love responding to all of them!


	21. Chapter Nineteen: No Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krista and Ymir will ward off the nightmares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So it is 2 AM and I'm kind of tired but I really wanted to post tonight/today so here you go. It's kind of a cute chapter so that's great I guess.

Before Mikasa left for work, she made Annie some chicken soup for breakfast. Annie was hesitant to eat it, especially after her dream, but Mikasa was able to coax some of it into her by rubbing her back and kissing her forehead.

“My tummy hurts,” Annie said with her best impression of a little kid.

In return Mikasa giggled and tousled Annie’s hair, not helping with her bed head.

“I’m sorry but I have to go. Take some medicine and you’ll be okay,” Mikasa suggested.

Annie looked up at her with a pout plastered on her face.

“I had been hoping for a tummy rub but I guess not.”

“Later, I promise.”

“Fine.”

Despite the fact that Annie was sick, Mikasa bent down to give her girlfriend a quick peck on the lips. When Mikasa walked out the door Annie smiled before wrapping herself back up in her blankets and falling asleep again.

_“It’s time, Annie, wake up,” Titan hissed._

_Annie hadn’t even been asleep for thirty minutes before Titan threw the water mix on her. She flinched from the chill and the sting of the salt, lemon, and alcohol on her freshly whipped back. Even though thirty minutes of sleep during a 120 hour period wasn’t nearly enough, she was grateful for the sleep she was able to get._

_When she didn’t get up right away she took a blow to her already bruised ribs. Her single cry of pain wasn’t enough so she was kicked again in the ribs and in the head. Whimpering, she stood up to be met with a sandwich. It had been a week since she was given the steak and bread scraps so she didn’t hesitate to take it and practically shove it down her throat. However, that wasn’t the only sandwich she was given._

_Once she was finished with her first sandwich she was handed another one which she took and ate greedily. Sandwich after sandwich she ate until she thought she was going to throw up. At that point the man handing her the sandwiches stepped away to reveal that there were still three more to be eaten. Knowing what was coming she turned around to have her hands tied behind her back and sat down so her feet could be tied together. The other three sandwiches were forced down her throat while Annie struggled against her bonds to stop the food from going into her overly full stomach. Afterwards, she was left to lay there on the floor with her hands and feet still bound. She used that time to get some well-deserved rest._

Waking up to Ymir sitting at her feet and Krista curled up on her stomach watching the World Cup was something Annie never expected. Mexico was playing Cameroon and neither of them were doing very good at all. Besides that the ref sucked and was making bad calls.

“Oh not these two teams,” Annie muttered.

“I know, they’re so bad I could play better than them,” Ymir boasted.

“I’m sure you could.”

After removing Krista to go to the bathroom, Annie fell asleep again to the sound of Ymir yelling at the ref.

When Mikasa walked in after work she was surprised to find Krista curled up on Annie’s stomach again and Ymir sleeping at her feet. Mikasa knew that the two kids would keep Annie from having nightmares for a little while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know it's not as great as usual but I shouldn't even be up right now so yeah.


	22. Chapter Twenty: The End, Seriously This Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie comes back to reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys! So I know that this ending is just as forced as the last one but I'm all out of ideas for leading up to the actual even so here's this thing. There may be some feels. Just kidding there will be feels.

 

There were many things that happened the next morning that shouldn’t have happened at all. First of all, Titan showed up at their front door only to shoot and kill Ymir and Krista. Since Annie was still sick and Mikasa was at work it had been those two who had opened the door. Once those two were dead he simply closed the door on a terrified Annie. Just as soon as she picked up her phone to call 911 it rang, the grocery store’s phone number, _Mikasa’s work number_. Annie picked it up only to be met with Levi on the other end.

“Annie?” he said once she had picked up. His voice was grim.

“Some guy just came in and shot Ymir and Krista please tell me Mikasa is okay!” Annie sobbed through the phone.

“That’s the thing, she’s not.”

“What happened?”

The tears were streaming down Annie’s face now faster than ever. Her body shook with her sobs of lament.

“One of her coworkers found her in the bathroom a few minutes ago with multiple stab wounds to the chest and abdomen. She’s been dead for at least an hour now. I’m so sorry, Annie.”

Annie hung up the phone and called 911 immediately.

“911 what’s the emergency?” the operator asked.

“Some guy just came into my apartment and shot my two kids right in front of me,” Annie explained.

“We’ll send someone right over.”

Annie gave the operator the information to get to her apartment and the police showed up about five minutes later. When she opened the door the police came in and asked what the guy looked like. She couldn’t reply before she had a panic attack and nearly passed out. The police didn’t understand when she gave them the name and description of someone who had been confirmed dead a little under a year ago.

“Wait, are you Annie Leonhardt?” one of the policemen asked. He looked a lot like Eren. Annie nodded and the policeman said, “I remember you. You were one of the soldiers held captive by Grisha “Titan” Jaeger. I’m always very ashamed when I have to tell people that he was my dad.”

_Eren._

 

***

 

Annie hadn’t eaten anything that day and she hadn’t planned to. She had lost the only family she had all in one day by the same guy that had put her through so much misery for a year that she nearly went insane. All she knew as she slipped into her cold and lonely bed was that she wanted to die.

_It wasn’t a surprise when Annie looked up from the chair she was tied to and saw Titan standing there. However, it was a surprise to see Mikasa, Ymir, and Krista tied up back to back like you would see in the movies._

_“You have to wake up to see them again,” Titan bellowed._

_“Where, at the funeral? I can’t even afford to give them a proper funeral,” Annie sobbed._

_“I mean from your coma. I can’t kill you and wake you up. That’s something you have to do on your own.”_

_Annie considered this idea since she knew all she wanted to be at the moment was dead. Before she could say anything again she saw Titan standing over the three with a knife in his hand. He started carving out pieces of Mikasa and tossing them on the floor. The parts he carved out were exactly the same as the ones that were gone in her dream about the zombies. Next he moved to Krista and did the same thing as he had with Mikasa who was slowly dying in the chair adjacent Krista. Once he finished he untied Ymir from the group and sat her down next to Annie._

_It was obvious as to what was going to happen next and that was the injections. Since Ymir and Annie were supposedly immune to the virus and were practically immortal she knew what was going to happen. She willed herself to wake up. She didn’t want to watch Krista and Mikasa turn and she didn’t want to be torn apart again so she willed herself to wake up. If dying was the only way to see them again then that’s what she had to do, but not in a dream._

The first thing Annie did when she woke up around four in the morning was go to the kitchen and find a knife. She didn’t realize that Mikasa was perfectly healthy and sleeping next to her and that she had simply been dreaming about everything. Turning the knife in her hand, she was terrified of being wrong. She had lost her grip on what was reality and what was not. Finally, she worked up the nerve and made a giant gash from in between her collarbones to the top of her waist.

Mikasa, Krista, and Ymir ran into the kitchen, having heard the fall, and found Annie bleeding to death.

“W-w-what?” Annie was confused and devastated. She guessed wrong and now it was too late. Annie lost consciousness and slipped into an eternal slumber.

 

***

 

Her eyes shot open. Annie was in a hospital bed in a room that looked like it hadn’t been touched in weeks. Her head was throbbing where Titan shot her and she slowly slipped out of bed into the bathroom.

She looked at herself in the mirror and saw that the scars that Titan had left there in her dreams. However, she felt that those scars hadn’t been put there by Titan. Her skin was taut against her skeletal frame and her once icy blue eyes were now a dull grey color. They did that when she didn’t get enough sun or when she didn’t eat enough food. It was the easiest way to tell if she was eating like she was supposed to. The sound of moaning outside her hospital room door pulled her attention away from herself.

Walking towards her door she was actually nervous to see what she would find. Slowly, she pulled the door open a crack so she could peek outside. The noise came from a human that was clearly not human at all. Annie knew what was happening and she didn’t like it.

“Shit,” she mumbled under her breath, waiting for the zombie to walk past her room before closing the door. She was definitely in for an insane afternoon. Her goal, find Ymir, Krista, and, most importantly, find her girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been the final chapter of Getting Better. I hope you enjoyed it and will check out the other work in this series, One Choice! I don't know why I have a thing for two word titles because all three of my fics on here have two letter titles.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I will be updating soon and in two weeks I'll be updating very often because school for me will be ending. If you have any ideas for this fic or any other fics you want me to write I would be glad to do so.


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